Meat the Team
The 2024 Meat Judging Team on a recent trip
At 5:30 a.m., most college students are still fast asleep. However, members of The Ohio State University Meat Judging Team are already visiting a meat processing facility or campus meat lab, practicing for their next competition. Donning their hard hats and dressed in white frocks in 36-degree coolers, students carefully evaluate beef, pork, and lamb carcasses, ranking them based on quality and cutability following industry standards.
Lyda Garcia goes beyond the competition, teaching students to think critically, communicate effectively, and build careers in one of the country’s most essential industries. “It’s not just about learning to judge meat,” Garcia, associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), explains. “It’s about preparing students for the workforce.”
Garcia grew up in south Texas, where her early exposure to livestock and ranching sparked a deep curiosity about the meat industry. While participating in livestock judging during high school, she was drawn more to the live side of evaluation. She often wondered what was going on with the meat. This led Garcia to pursue meat judging at Clarendon College and later at Texas Tech University, where she was part of the Reserve National Champion Meat Judging Team. She earned her master’s at West Texas A&M University and her doctorate at Texas A&M University – College Station where she coached a team at both institutions.
Since joining Ohio State in 2015, Garcia has been developing the next generation of meat industry professionals. As both an associate professor and a meat specialist for Ohio State University Extension, CFAES’ statewide outreach arm, Garcia emphasizes Extension education opportunities, workforce development, and real-world application of meat judging skills.
The meat of a competition
Meat judging competitions typically occur at large meat processing facilities or universities across the United States. Competitors view four carcasses of beef, pork, and lamb and rank them from best to worst based on industry standards and desirable traits such as yield and quality. Students also evaluate wholesale cuts that would be sold to food service and retail distributors. After making their decisions, students justify their placings for each class with five sets of written reasons, testing their meat knowledge, terminology, and writing ability. On average, the team participates in six contests a year.
“I tell students to think like a grader. Not every ribeye is the same,” Garcia shares. “They have to learn the meaning of specifications of 15 subprimals (initial cuts of beef, pork, and lamb) to determine if they are ready to be packaged and shipped, a real-world scenario. This is what we call quality assurance. They also have to place classes correctly, then justify their ‘Why?’ with written reasons. Students must understand the grading systems for all three species and the specification programs with USDA by evaluating and understanding the cuts they are given. It is quite intensive.”
Exploring new opportunities
Beyond the competition, meat judging opens doors to career opportunities that many students never expect. The team’s travels introduce them to professionals across the meat industry, from upper managerial positions to academia, such as graduate programs. These connections often lead to internships, graduate school placements, and job offers after graduation.
For Kayla Scott, a CFAES animal sciences graduate student and former meat judging team member from Zoarville, Ohio, meeting people in the industry has been one of the most rewarding aspects.
“One of my favorite parts of meat judging was meeting students from other universities and learning about their experiences,” Scott said. “As a grad student now, I get to see them at conferences or keep up with what they are doing on social media. It was neat to meet so many peers and future colleagues through meat judging.”
Beyond the contest
Ohio has no large-scale meat packing facilities, but it does have many diversified, smaller to medium facilities. Students like Zane Ortman view this as a way to be more well-rounded in the meat industry.
Ortman, a CFAES junior from Somerset, Ohio, who’s studying animal sciences is a current member of the meat judging team. Through his travels, he has reflected upon what makes Ohio’s meat and animal industry unique.
“Being part of a team pushes you out of your comfort zone. You have to elevate yourself and your teammates. On the team, you have to be willing to take risks and fail. Dr. Garcia ensures you ‘fail successfully’ because you learn a lot in the process.”Kayla Scott
“I’ve gained valuable insights beyond just meat judging, particularly in understanding how the meat industry varies across the country. Each region has its own unique focus of livestock. For example, schools in Texas emphasize beef production due to large packing plants and feedyards,” Ortman said. “In Ohio, the industry operates on a smaller scale but is more diverse, including beef, lamb, poultry, and other proteins. Traveling to places like Amarillo, Texas, where plants process 6,000 head of fed cattle daily, gave me a firsthand look at large-scale operations and deepened my appreciation for the versatility and adaptability of Ohio’s more localized industry.”
“For practices, we have to get more creative and utilize the resources we have as best as we can,” Garcia shared. “By the fall, we usually see students place in the Top 20. Our students do well. They have to work harder, but they understand the implications of what they are learning. I consider success to be where they end up in their careers or their lives when they are done judging and where they use their knowledge and experiences.”
Scott’s time on the team directly impacted her decision to continue her education.
“I don’t think I would be in graduate school or have such a deep interest in the meat industry if it had not been for the judging team,” Scott shared. “Being part of a team pushes you out of your comfort zone. You have to elevate yourself and your teammates. On the team, you have to be willing to take risks and fail. Dr. Garcia ensures you ‘fail successfully’ because you learn a lot in the process.”
The skills students develop through meat judging extend far beyond the competition floor. They leave the program with a deep understanding of the industry, sharpened critical thinking abilities, and the confidence to take on leadership roles. Whether they pursue careers in meat science, graduate school, or the livestock sector, Garcia ensures they are well-prepared for the next step.
“As long as I’m here, my goal is to equip students with the skills they need to be employable,” Garcia says. “I strive to teach them the right way from the start so they can, in turn, help educate others. I can’t do it all myself, but by preparing them well, empowering them with the knowledge, I know they’ll be ready to teach and shape the industry’s future. Because that’s what it’s all about, educating the masses.”
